No Laughing Matter
by Phoenix-cry
Summary: While studying a newly discovered culture Daniel is quickly wrapped up in a medical mystery that seems to have no answers.  He soon realizes that there is more to this ailment than meets the eye.  This is a mixture of science fiction and medical fact.
1. Chapter 1

No Laughing Matter

**Chapter One**

"Daniel, contain yourself."

"Bu..."

"That's an order." Jack warned.

"Ja..."

"Zip it."

Sam smiled to herself at Daniel's frustration. Jack was clearly enjoying it as well. Teal'c raised his eyebrow in disaproval of the way the breifing was going, but said nothing. In all honesty Sam was just as excited as Daniel about their last mission, but for entirly diffrent reasons.

"Now then," Jack said once he had restored order "Carter, why don't you tell me what's so special about this latest Godforsaken, backwater little planet of yours?"

"Well, Sir, the culture is unlike any that we've ever come across."

"Advanced?"

"Most decisivly not." Teal'c replied.

"No great weapons, mysterious devices, anything like that?"

"Not exsactly, Sir."

"Okay, that's all I wanted to know." Jack claped his hands together as though ending that business. "For your next assingment..."

"Sam." Daniel growled.

"What?" She asked in mock innocents. "Oh that's right, we did find one thing."

Sam reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a small glass vile that held a dark purple liquid. She handed it across the breifing room table to Jack. He inspected it as though he knew what it was before looking up at Sam.

"Looks like Kool-aid."

"It's a Naquadah soil test, Sir."

"What? You're kidding."

"No, Sir."

"I thought the test only turned this colour in the precense of pure Naquadah."

"You think correct, O'Neill."

"So there must be a huge vien of it there."

"Right on the surface." Sam confirmed.

"So...what's the catch?"

"The catch is we know nothing about the indigenous people." Daniel provided.

"So?"

"So we can't just pop onto their planet, rape the land, and nip back off again."

"Oh for crying out loud, Daniel, I wasn't suggesting anything like that. Clearly they're not using it. Just find out what they want in exchange."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't speak the language."

Jack was brought up short by this. He looked to Sam for confirmation and she nodded.

"You don't speak the language?" Jack repeated.

"Nope."

"Is that even possiable?"

"Clearly."

"What language is it?"

"I don't even know. I think it is some kind of Pidgin."

"Piegon? Like the bird?"

"No, Pidgin, they are simplified versions of langauges used between two cultures that don't share a common langauge to allow them to communicate for things such as trade."

"Yeah...facinating." Jack said drying.

"It is. More than that they seem to have adopted this as a true langauge rather than a secondary one."

"You don't say?"

"Jack," Daniel said irritably "this is an amazing opertunity to witness how new languages are born."

"No, this is an amazing opurtunity to get our hands on a large quanitiy of Naquadah."

"We can't take it without permission."

"Alright, Daniel, what is it going to take to get that permission?"

"I want a chance to interact with these people, learn their culture, learn their langauge, without the interuption of a mining operation disturbing us."

"Fine...two weeks."

"Two months."

"One."

"Deal."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Look at him." Sam chuckled. "Snug as a bug in a rug."

Teal'c furrowed his brow in obvious confusion.

"It's another one of those 'expressions', it means he's happy."

"Daniel Jackson does indeed seem content." Teal'c agreed.

"Ten bucks says he'll be wearing their clothing within the week."

Teal'c raised his eye brow and stared at Sam. She smiled and rolled her eyes at the stoic Jaffa. They were keeping back as Daniel reintroduced himself to the natives. They really hadn't had much interaction with them on the first visit. Sam made sure that she appeared relaxed but her hand rested on her P90 in case it was needed.

Surrounded by several dozen people Daniel was trying to speak with a woman who was more ornately dressed than the others, assuming her to be a leader of some sort. She listened to him while he tried to find a language similar to her own. So far she hadn't said a in return. It wasn't until Daniel started gesturing that she truly became interested.

"Taki, taki." She said excitedly.

"Taki? Um...is that your name?" Daniel asked. He put his hands on his chest. "Daniel, I'm Daniel." He pointed to her. "Taki?"

The woman seemed pleased by this. She looked down at herself, apparently thinking that he was pointing at something specific. She wore an ornate necklace of bone and turquoise stones. Pulling the jewelry off she held it out to him.

"Taki?" She asked.

"Oh...trade. Taki means trade." Daniel smiled. "Okay...um...what would you like in return? Taki?"

The woman looked him up and down. When her eyes fell on his watch they suddenly brightened. She pointed at the watch and shook the necklace in her hand. Daniel chuckled and unbuckled his watch. He held it out to her and she presented her arm.

Sam noticed that the woman was unable to hold her arm out stead. She had some sort of slight tremor running through the outstretched limb. In fact now that Sam thought about it all of her motions seemed jerky. It wasn't that she was shaking uncontrollably, but to Sam's untrained medical eye she seemed to have more difficulty with her moments than she should.

"You want help putting it on?" Daniel said more to himself than her.

"Da, da." She said shaking her arm.

Daniel fit the watch around the woman's wrist as best he could. It was far too big for her, but she seemed pleased with it just the same. She held the necklace open with both hands and shook it again. Daniel bowed down slightly and she slipped the necklace over his head.

When the transaction was over the woman turned to the rest of the Tribe and raised her arms in the air. Everyone cheered ecstatically at the successful business transaction. She threw her arm over Daniel's shoulders and began to lead him through the village of naturally built huts. A handful of the women followed the pair, but most of them went back to whatever it was they had been doing before the interruption.

"How does he do it, Teal'c?" Sam shook her head.

"How doe he do what?"

"Fit into every culture except his own."

Teal'c actually looked like he was going to answer Sam when they were approached by a middle aged woman. Once again Sam noted that this one also had an unusual gait. The woman gestured as though inviting them to join the others.

"Da, da."

"No, that's okay." Sam shook her head.

"Da." She repeated.

Sam shook her head again. The woman started laughing and then shuffled off. She continued to laugh as she left, a mirthless, hollow sound. Sam didn't get the feeling that she was being laughed at, but it was hard to tell. She was just deciding if she and Teal'c should set up a camp here, closer to the Stargate, or if things were safe enough here to just go back to the SGC.

"Sam?" The radio suddenly squawked.

"Yeah, Daniel, what's up?"

"You two don't have to keep baby-sitting me if you don't want to."

"I'd like to get a look at that Naquadah field."

"Can you give me a week, just to make sure we won't be trouncing on sacred ground?"

"I can do that."

"Thank you."

"Oh, Daniel, just one thing."

"What's that?"

"Have fun, but don't get too comfortable here." Sam teased.

"What do you mean?"

"You know why General O'Neill doesn't let you study like this more often, don't you?"

"To drive me insane?"

"No." Sam chuckled. "He's just afraid you won't come home."

"Maybe I won't." Daniel mocked.

"At this point in time I think the General would send in a strike team to recover you."

"Nice to know."

"Just keep in touch, okay?"

"Yes'um."


	3. Chapter 3

NOTE: I have made up the language cause I'm lazy, I've tweaked the culture, but it is based off a real one.

Chapter Three

It had taken sometime, but Daniel eventually learned that the woman who now wore his watch was named Yu'li. She didn't say very much, every once in a while she would gesture vaguely and say one or two words. Her gesturing was much like her walk, jerky and somewhat uncontrolled.

Daniel paid close attention to what little she did say although often it was difficult to tell if she was talking about a person or a building, or possibly any number of the diverse plants and flowers that grew everywhere. Everyone who passed by graced Yu'li with a smile and shallow bow.

It wasn't long before they came to a plain hut that was next to a highly decorated one. Yu'li pointed at the ornate hut and said her own name. Daniel smiled and nodded his approval at her home. Smiling in return Yu'li turned to the smaller establishment.

"Taja!"

A women who looked to be a few years younger than Daniel himself stepped from the small shelter. She had some half done beadwork in her hands, but when she saw who had called her she quickly placed it back in the house. Returning she bowed to Yu'li.

"Da?" The young woman asked meekly.

"Rekris." Yu'li said simply pointing to Daniel.

She furrowed her brow and looked Daniel over. Satisfied she nodded and held out her hand for him to take. Over the years Daniel had become a bit cautious about such things and didn't immediately accept the offer.

"What does 'rekris' mean?"

"Nu?"

"Nu probably means 'what'." Daniel muttered to himself. "Nu 'rekris'?"

"Ah." The woman nodded. "'Rekris'." She repeated as she walked two of her fingers across her palm while looking around in an exaggerated manner.

"Show." Daniel said as he looked around vaguely. "You want to show me around?"

"Da."

"Okay, I was just making sure that I wasn't marring myself off by taking your hand."

The two women looked at one another. Yu'li shrugged and then opened and closed her hand like she was imitating a chicken beak. They both got a giggle at Daniel's expense. He realized that he must seem like quite the chatter box considering that they seemed to communicate in single words rather than sentences.

"Estri, Taja." Yu'li said.

"Estri," Daniel repeated. "Thank you?"

The strange look they both gave him made him think that he had misinterpreted the word. Yu'li held up her shaky arm with the watch, gave Daniel a shallow bow and departed into the ornate house. The young woman looked up at him expectantly.

"I'm Daniel." He announced placing one hand on his chest.

Just like Yu'li she looked down at her elegant bone and stone necklace. However she didn't seem to want to give it.

"Ni." She said firmly. "Ni, taki."

"No, I don't want your necklace. No, trade. Ni, Taki." He shook his head and tried again. "Daniel. That's my name. Daniel."

"Dan'el."

"That's close enough." Daniel chuckled. "Are you 'Taja'?"

"Taja, da, da." She smiled and placed her hand on her chest. She then reached out put her hand on his chest. "Dan'el."

"Da, da." Daniel replied. "Rekris?"

"Da!"

Taja seemed excited that they were slowly starting to understand one another. She offered her hand again and this time he took it. The village was actually more extensive than Daniel had first thought. There were probably close to three thousand people living in the rambling huts that blended well into the surrounding rainforest-like environment.

The women wore a great deal of natural jewelry, which included a lot of bone pieces. The men tended to wear simple leather necklaces with a single bone, bead, or tooth. As a result they tended to give Daniel odd looks when they saw the richly adorned necklace that he wore.

The men and women wore similar clothing. For the men it was a simple skirt made of a single piece of hand-woven cloth, wrapped around the waist and tied off in the front. Mostly the cloth was left a natural beige colour, which contrasted with their deep brown skin. The women wore the same skirt, but added a richly died cloth tied around their chest in a similar manner.

Everyone seemed accepting of the stranger in their mists. Some were more curious about Daniel than others. However for the most part they just went about their day, which suited Daniel just fine. It was so rare that he got observe cultures on different planets just living their lives.

Both sexes seemed to share similar tasks. Both cooking, making various crafts, and watching after children. There were what appeared to be craft shops dotted all over the randomly arranged village. Daniel was hoping to trade something else for a few of the artifacts, maybe discover if they had religious significance, or if they were simply decorative.

Daniel was still trying to decide if this was a maternal, paternal, or neutrally run society when he noticed something strange. Although there were a fair number of elderly men, he had only seen a small handful truly senior women.

"Ni, Dan'el." Taja suddenly said sharply.

Daniel hadn't really been paying attention to where they were going and had started to turn to the right. Taja pulled on his hand, which she still held, to lead him away to the left. Looking in the direction he'd been traveling he saw that part of the village up ahead was in poor repair compared to the rest.

"What's down there?" Daniel pointed to the derelict part of town. "Nu?"

"Ni, Ni."

"What?" He insisted. "Nu?"

Taja looked around nervously and then simply tried to pull Daniel away again. When he stood his ground she sighed in defeat. She looked around once more before motioning Daniel to lean down so she could whisper in his ear.

"Kanra."

"Kanra? What is...sorry...Nu kanra?"

Taja thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the word. Eventually she hugged herself with her arms and began trembling. She shifted her eyes back and forth anxiously.

"Fear? Kanra means fear?"

When Taja just shrugged Daniel tried again by spreading an exaggerated worried expression across his face. Taja watched him attentively and nodded.

"Da, da...feer."

"What's down there to fear?"

"Kanra."

"Right," Daniel sighed "of course. Nothing to fear except fear itself."

"Nu?"

"Ni, nothing."

"Da, da."

Deciding against pressing his luck just yet he peacefully allowed Taja to lead him in the opposite direction of the run down area. They had only gone a few feet when a noise coming from behind them made Daniel stop. He got to hear the noise repeat itself once more before Taja pulled him along.

It didn't sound fearful at all, in fact it was the distinct sound of laughter.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Hu-ooop! Hu-ooop!"

Daniel watched fascinated as the younger members of the tribe danced and sang around an immense fire. They wore no paint or special clothing for the occasion. However the feeling of celebration and festivity was heavy in the air.

It was Daniel's third night among the gentle people of this world and he was loving every second of it. He had already traded his light weight SG jacket, both shoes, and sock, a tin of mints, and a business card for a dry cleaning company that he happened to have in his pocket.

In return he had received several bone carvings of various figures, a bracelet, a stone cup, and a small knife. The knife greatly interested him because it didn't appear to be made out of Naquadah, despite the abundance of the metal.

He still wore the ornate bone and stone necklace that Yu'li had traded him for his watch. It had earned him the nickname of 'Wen-gnu'. Which he had loosely translated to mean 'girl-man'. He didn't mind, and it certainly made Taja smile, even though she still called him by her approximation of his name.

Dripping with sweat from dancing Taja approached him and took his hand to help him stand. He peacefully followed her over to an elderly man sitting in front of a small fire. Next to the man was a large number of little net bags. Daniel tried to see what was inside, but the firelight wrecked havoc on his already poor eyesight.

"Yucka?" Taja asked hopefully.

"Da, da, Taja." The man smiled.

He picked up two of the bags and tied them to a short stick. Placing them in the fire he hummed along with the men still dancing and singing in the background. After a few moments he pulled them from the fire and offered them to Taja.

She carefully took them and hurried back to where Daniel had been sitting. He followed her back to the downed tree that acted as a bench. Curiosity was almost killing him at this point. She sat down and pointed for him to do the same.

"Nu?" Daniel asked. "What is that?"

"Yucka." Taja beamed.

Setting the bags down on her lap she carefully opened them. Daniel peeked inside and instantly regretted doing so. Curled up in the woven net sack was a gigantic spider. Dead and steaming from the fire it still looked up at him with eight glassy eyes.

"Yucka is right." Daniel agreed. "Why do I get the feeling that you want me to eat that?"

"Mmmmm."

Taja teased open the spider's body and pulled out a large chunk of whitish flesh. Like the good hostess that she was she offered the jiggling piece of meat to Daniel. Taking a deep breath he gratefully accepted it.

"I guess I can't knock it till I try it."

Daniel forced a smile and bravely sucked down the spider meat. Much to his surprise it was delicious. It tasted vaguely like lobster, and nothing like chicken. Taja could see the pleasant surprise in his eyes and handed the rest of the arachnid over to him.

Gingerly picking the spider apart Daniel truly enjoyed the exotic meal. She showed him how to get the best out of the thick hairy legs. Having finished she took the nets back over to the man that had roasted their meal for them.

On the way back a young gentleman caught her by the wrist and pulled her into a dance. She pretended to be angry at him, but quickly began to mimic his moves. It was a dance of grace, each person doing their best to out do their partner. Taja was in her prime and easily began to win the game.

Still sitting on the downed tree Daniel was distracted from the festivities by a tugging at his pant leg. A young girl had sat down on the ground next to him. She was about six years old and was completely fascinated by the cargo pocket on the side of his pants.

Totally unafraid she was inspecting the seam where the oversized pocket was attached to dark green cloth. She was trying to figure out a way to remove it. After watching her for a moment Daniel reached down and unzipped the empty pocket.

The little girl smiled brightly and instantly reached inside the open pocket. She didn't seem disappointed to find it empty, and instead turned her attention to the zipper itself. It didn't take her long figure out how to work it.

"Daaashea!"

The little girl jumped and turned to her mother's distorted call. She flashed Daniel one last smile and rushed over to her. Daniel watched as Dacea struggled to describe her new experience to her mother. With their limited vocabulary she seemed to have no way to explain the zipper so she wove her fingers together like the teeth of the zipper instead.

When Dacea's mother spoke to her Daniel had trouble following any of the conversation. Her mother seemed to have some kind of speech impediment that slurred her words. A teenage male came over and helped Dacea's mother to her feet and the trio left. Daniel noticed that like many of the women she too had an unusual gait and in this case she actually needed assistance to walk.

Having won her dance Taja came back over and sat down next to Daniel. She was breathing hard, but was still enjoying herself.

"Taja?"

"Da, Dan'el?"

"Nu?" Daniel asked pointing to the trio. "What's wrong with her?"

"Nu?"

"Nu wen?" Daniel tried again by adding the word for female.

Taja shook her head, she clearly didn't understand what Daniel was trying to ask. This language was difficult for him because it seemed as though facial expressions and tone were just as important as the word itself. He had decided that the base was Indo-pacific. Which didn't really help because those were some of the languages he was unfamiliar with.

Before Daniel could think of a way to rephrase his question there was a sudden eruption of violence. A woman as close to being 'elderly' as Daniel had seen so far began lashing out at everyone in her path. She twisted her face in rage and spat what sounded like curses to Daniel's ears.

Daniel expected a chaotic reaction, but what happened next seemed to be choreographed. The men dancing and the ones watching all left the area as one at a brisk walk. As they disappeared from the rings of firelight the woman broke into tears. Several women, including Yu'li, the Cheiftess, had surrounded her. They held out their hands and offered soft cooing noises.

"Dan'el, teka."

"Nu? What?"

"Teka, teka." Taja insisted as she pulled on his sleeve. "Ni gnu."

"'Ni gnu'." Daniel repeated. "No men? So 'teka' must mean 'leave'."

"Da, da, teka."

"Nu ni gnu?" Daniel asked. "Why no men?"

"Ni gnu."

Daniel had used the word 'nu' meaning 'what' in replace of 'why' since so far he found no evidence of a word for 'why'. It didn't seem to translate over. Taja simply pulled on his arm, this time more desperate to lead him away.

Deciding not to press his luck allowed Taja to take him back towards her home. He looked back one last time and noticed that they were helping the woman walk unsteadily away as well. The celebration was suddenly over. Although he couldn't be sure he got the feeling that the women were heading towards the part of the village that Taja would not let him visit.

"Daniel." The radio at Daniel's hip suddenly squawked.

Taja jumped in fear of the gruff sound. Daniel smiled reassuringly and retrieved the radio for her to inspect. She looked at it, but didn't dare touch it.

"Ni kanra." Daniel said softly. "No need to fear."

"Kanra." Taja whispered in horror.

"Ni. No fear. Ni kanra."

"Earth to Dr. Daniel Jackson." The radio spoke again. "...literally."

Daniel rolled his eyes. He had already conntacted the SGC this morning and he didn't appreaciate being kept tabs on like a rebelling teenager. Taja started chewing on her bottom lip, but she relaxed when Daniel smiled.

"Jack?" Daniel asked annoyed.

"No, this is voice of God."

"Very funny." Daniel said dryly. "What do you want?"

"What do you think I want?"

"No, I haven't asked them about it yet."

"Why not?"

"I'm still working on the basics."

"What could be more basic than 'Can we have the Naquadah laying around?'."

To Daniel's surprise Taja's eyes seemed to light up in recognition of the word. He stared at her in disbelief for a moment. She looked around as if something was wrong, but when she found nothing out of place she turned her attention back to Daniel.

"Taja, do you know what Naquadah is?"

"Da, da, Naquadah." Taja nodded with a shrug of disinterest. "Rekris." She offered to show him.

"I don't believe it." Daniel muttered.

"Daniel, what's going on?" The radio squawked.

"Nothing. I'll contact you guys tomorrow."

"Daniel?"

"I need some more time here."

"Just don't get too comfortable." Jack warned.

"Why does everyone think I'm not going to come back?"

"Because we know you."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The next morning Taja lead Daniel away from the village and towards the Stargate. When they reached the Gate Taja paused and contemplated the great ring. Eventually she pointed to it and then to Daniel.

"Dan'el?"

"Da, da." Daniel replied. "I came through the Gate."

Taja thought about this for a moment and seemed to accept it. She headed off past the Gate and off to the East. The terrain was slowly changing, the lush rainforest giving way to grassy rolling hills. This was the area that Sam had tested positive for Naquadah, but they continued past it.

After about half an hour they came to a large hill. They crested the sizable mound of earth. Once at the top Daniel was surprised to learn that the other half of the hill had been sheered clean off. The drop had to be a hundred fifty feet. Taja walked up to the very edge and knelt down.

"Naquadah." She said simply as she pointed off the cliff.

Daniel joined her and peered over the edge of the high cliff. A deep gray vein of Naquadah was exposed on the cliff face. Like an Eastern Dragon the metal winded and twisted across the sheer surface. It was enormous and would be easy to mine with minimal destruction.

Looking into the valley Daniel saw evidence of a long since forgotten mining operation. He wanted to get a closer look, but it would take equipment to get down off the cliff, and probably a days worth of walking to go around it.

"Why would the Goa'uld abandon such a rich vein?"

"Kanra."

"What? Nu?"

"Goa'uld kanra."

"Do you mean you are afraid of them, or that they were afraid of this place?"

The sentence was too complicated for Taja to even begin to understand. Daniel was frustrated by his inability to piece together such a simple language. Although he understood that its simplicity was superficial. The ability to convey so much with so few words was remarkable.

"You seem to know about Gou'ald."

"Da, da. Goa'uld nertric." Taja said with a disgusted face. She pointed back in the direction of the Stargate and made a circle with her hands. "Goa'uld est chaphi, ni taki, mu nak!"

It was the closet Daniel had head to a true sentence during his stay here. She clearly knew of Goa'uld and didn't seem very fond of them. Furthermore it seemed as though she was fully aware that they came through the Stargate.

"Ni taki. No trade. I assume 'mu nak' means that they 'just take'." Daniel mused and suddenly had a thought. "Do you think I'm a Goa'uld?" Daniel asked as he put his hand on his chest.

"Ni. Ni Goa'uld." Taja smiled. "Dan'el."

"Yes, that's my name. But how do you know I'm not a Goa'uld. Ret ni Goa'uld?"

"Dan'el taki, ni nak." Taja smiled and pulled on Daniel's necklace.

"The trade, it was a test."

Taja smiled and got to her feet. She had shown him the Naquadah and now she wanted to go back home. Daniel stopped her and pointed over the cliff again. She knelt down again and looked over the edge as though there was something new there.

"Taki?" He asked simply.

"Nu?"

"Taki Naquadah?"

"Ah! Da, da! Taki!"

"The real question is going to be what you want for it." Daniel smiled. "Nu taki?"

Taja thought about this very carefully. Daniel hadn't really meant that she had to make this decision on her own, but she suddenly seemed determined to think of something. Her usually smiling face was serious and she looked around nervously.

"Taki Naquadah...ni kanra."

"'Ni kanra'." Daniel repeated. "Trade Naquadah for no fear. I don't understand."

Knowing she wouldn't understand what he was saying Daniel furrowed his brow in exaggerated confusion. She thought about how to better explain her proposal. Daniel could see that she had an idea, but didn't know if she should go through with it. Suddenly jumping back to her feet she held her hand out to him.

"Taja, rekris."

"You'll show me?"

"Da, da, rekris."

Taja led Daniel back past the Stargate and into the village. She weaved through the streets until they came to the outskirts of the derelict section of village. Stopping suddenly Taja became very nervous. Daniel flashed her a smile to show that he was unafraid of whatever she wanted to show him.

"You're frightened of something in there. Taja kanra."

"Ni, ni Taja kanra." Taja shook her head. "Ni gnu."

"No men? Men aren't allowed in there. Ni gnu?"

"Da."

"Da wen? Rekris wen?" Daniel asked. "You'd be able to show a woman?"

"Da, da! Wen!"

"I happen to know a very brave woman." Daniel smiled. "Dan'el rekris."

It was Daniel's turn to lead Taja thought the village and back to the Stargate. He was a little worried about how she would react to the Gate being opened, but she had apparently been appointed to him and so far had refused to ever be far from him.

The vortex snapped out at them causing Taja to wrap her arms around Daniel's waist and bury her face against his chest. He stroked her hair reassuringly. Eventually she regained her courage and her curiosity. She stared at the blue event horizon in fascination.

"Wenris." She breathed in awe.

"Yes, it is beautiful." Daniel agreed.

"What do you want?" Jack's voice crackled over the radio.

"What do you think I want?"

"After four days? My guess would be: a shower."

"Is there someone else there I can talk to?" Daniel asked in mock irritation.

"No one here but us chickens."

"How about Mother Hen?"

"I'm here, Daniel." Sam's voice chuckled.

"I've got a job here that needs a woman's touch."

"I don't see how I can help." Sam teased. "I've been 'one of the boys' for far too long."

"Sam."

"Alright, I'll be right through."

"Is any of this going to help us get that Naquadah?" Jack asked.

"As a matter of fact I think it will."

"What cha got?"

"I think I found something the people here want."

"Is it Carter? Cause if so they can have her. She's been driving me _nuts_. Photonreceptor this, chemoelectrical that, electromagnetic yadda yadda."

"Hey!" Sam protested.

"Sorry, Jack, this is just a simple trade."

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel." Jack replied in an exasperated tone. "When are you ever going to learn?"

"Learn what?"

"Nothing is simple...particularly when you're involved."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Sam stepped through the Event Horizon and found herself back on the jungle world of PX1-253. Daniel was there with a small woman who had a look of utter amazement on her deeply tanned face. Daniel encouraged her to step forward for formal introductions.

"Sam this is Taja." Daniel smiled. "Taja, Sam."

"Hello." Sam greeted.

"Hallo." Taja mimicked and then turned to Daniel. "Wen rekris?"

"Da."

Taja seemed satisfied by this. She motioned for Sam to follow and started off towards the village. Sam looked to Daniel before following along. As they walked she couldn't help but study him. Something seemed out of place about him, something subtle.

"Sam?" Daniel asked concerned.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, you were looking at me weird."

"Oh. I'm sorry. You just, I don't know, you just seem different."

"Really?" Daniel asked surprised. "Different how?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well I have been shaving without a mirror." Daniel chuckled. "Taja is terrified by them."

"That's it."

"Really?"

"No, I mean right then, when you said that, that's what's different about you."

"I don't understand."

"You're smiling."

"Is that really so different than how I am normally?"

"Lately...yes." Sam admitted. "You've got that 'kid in a candy store' look again. I haven't seen that in a long time."

"Well, I have to admit after years of getting shot, killed, possessed, drugged, kidnapped, tortured, and generally given a hard time...it's really nice to sit back and actually study a culture, a _peaceful_ culture."

Daniel's words were serious, but his attitude remained light hearted. Sam looked around the village that they were walking through and instantly saw what he loved about it. Everyone around them were just living their lives.

No one looked at her suspiciously or with any hint of malevolent intent. In fact anytime she caught someone's eye they'd smile brightly and nod at her. She was a little shocked when the village seemed to give way to disrepair. Taja had stopped cold and turned around.

"Ni gnu."

"Da, da." Daniel nodded and turned to Sam. "This is why I asked you here. Whatever is in that part of the village is not allowed to be seen by men. At the same time there is something there that she wants to trade the Naquadah for. I really don't understand it. I'm thinking that they want help of some description. Maybe remove the poverty of this area, I really don't know."

"Well, hopefully I can find out."

"Saam rekris."

"What did she say?"

"She said she wants to show you."

"Okay."

"Da, Taja."

Taja nodded solemnly and held out her hand for Sam to take. Sam hesitated because the hand Taja wanted was the one she'd used to get to her side arm. Daniel had assured her that a weapon would not be necessary, but she still insisted on reaching out so that Taja would have to take her left.

It didn't seem to matter to the young woman and she lead Sam into the ruined village silently. When Daniel was out of sight the quiet was interrupted by a low chuckling. Sitting on the ground, propped up against a small tree was an older woman. She was staring into space, laughing to herself.

"Kanra." Taja whimpered.

"Kanra?" Sam repeated.

"Da."

"Daniel said that meant fear. Are you afraid of her, or she of you?"

Taja ignored Sam's complicated question and just continued walking. The further they traveled the more evident it became that there was a serious epidemic here. Everyone they passed showed signs of neurological distress. Most had tremors so violent that they could no longer walk without the aid of another person or a crutch.

"This is horrifying." Sam breathed. "Taja what is happening here?"

"Uru."

"I'm sorry I don't know what that means."

Taja just shrugged her shoulders and lead her further into the open air hospital ward. It had the feel of some form of quarantine. Out of sight the afflicted became out of mind to the rest of the village.

The victims with less progressed cases cared for those with more severe afflictions. The residents were mostly older, between forty and sixty years of age from what Sam could guess, and yet younger victims were also among them.

Sam was able to watch the disease progress as they walked. They came to a point where only the 'nurses' were walking about. Those in the later stages could not walk, or even sit up. They laid in squalor and filth, trembling when awake, mimicking death when they slept.

All the while there was the inappropriate sounds of laughter. The women would just burst into it. Although Sam soon realized that their mirth degraded into tears very easily. Some of the victims saw and clearly recognized Taja. They smiled at her, occasionally calling her name. She forced a smile back to them and called them by name as well.

The stench of incontinence and rot was quickly becoming overwhelming. Sam decided that she had seen more than enough. She stopped and tried to pulled Taja back towards the way they'd come.

"Taja, please, take me back to Daniel."

"Ni, ni." Taja protested. "Rekris."

"I think I've 'rekrised' enough for one life time."

"Ni, ni."

Sam sighed, bringing the reek of decay further into her senses. Taja pointed to one hut in particular and gave Sam a desperate look. Eventually she nodded and conceded to look inside.

After stepping into the hut Taja dropped Sam's hand and knelt down next to a woman who was on the brink of death. The woman woke and instantly began to tremble.

Taja tried to offer her some water, but she was either unwilling or unable to swallow.

"Taaja." The woman slurred in a whisper.

"Miki." Taja replied quietly. "Wenu, daka."

"Ni daka, ni daka."

Sam had no idea what the woman had said, but Taja broke down into tears. Taja smoothed out the woman's matted hair and did her best to clean the drool from her chin and throat. The woman smiled and closed her eyes once more. Looking up at Sam with a heartbreaking expression Taja placed her hands on the woman's slowly heaving chest.

"Miki, Taja wenu."

"I...I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Taja knit her brow. She placed her hand low on Miki's abdomen and then placed her hand over her own heart.

"Miki, Taja wenu."

"Your mother." Sam said sadly.

"Da, da."

After kissing the sleeping Miki's forehead Taja stood back up. She wiped the tears away as best she could. Having shown Sam what she wanted her to see they made their way back to where Daniel was waiting.

When Daniel saw how shaken Sam was and the tracks of tears on Taja's face he instantly lost his smile. The anxious, serious man Sam had come to know had returned. She forced a smile, but there was no hiding what she'd seen. Taja ran up to Daniel and threw herself into his arms and began weeping again.

"Sam, what happened?"

"Something is slowly killing the women here." Sam replied simply.

"Killing?"

"A disease of some sort. I think."

"Kanra, kanra." Taja moaned.

"She has been saying that a lot." Sam said. "You said it meant 'fear'?""

"I thought so, but now I'm not so sure. 'Kanra' might not just mean 'fear', it might also be what they call this disease."

"Da, da. Kanra. Ni kanra, taki Naquadah."

"What did she say?"

"She said we can have the Naquadah if we take away this fear...if we find a cure."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Hey, Sam."

"Hey, Daniel. Where's Taja?"

"Sleeping. Afternoon naps are a bit of a religion around here."

Sam looked up from her laptop and forced a smile. Sitting on the stone dais she had her back leaning up against the Stargate. Daniel shifted his weight uncomfortably, looking like he wanted to say more, looking like he wanted to apologize.

"How...um...how's Jack?"

"I'm furious."

Daniel startled as Jack got up from where he had been sitting in the shade of a banyan tree. Sam sighed as Daniel took a step away from Jack's murderous glare. She had asked him not to come, but he insisted. Being a General he tended to get his way, actually when she thought about it he had always tended to get his way.

"Gen..."

"Quiet, Carter."

"Jac..."

"That goes double for you, Daniel." Jack snarled. "How could you do this?"

"You think I meant for this to happen?"

"I don't care what you 'meant to happen'. Because of you Carter could be dying."

"Thanks, Jack, I didn't spend all last night awake thinking about that." Daniel hissed. "She my friend too you know."

"And she is still _right here_," Sam growled "so stop talking like I'm dead already."

"Sorry." Daniel muttered.

"You should be!" Jack snapped. "You've exposed Carter to some horrifying disease that kills women! All in the interest of 'archeology'."

"I don't know what you're expecting of me, Jack. I came here to try and find a way to get that Naquadah and that's exactly what I did."

"I didn't expect you to..."

"Guys!" Sam barked. "Please. This isn't solving anything. Besides, Daniel hasn't 'exposed' me to anything."

"You can't know that." Jack replied.

"Sir, contagious neurological diseases don't strike a single sex. There has to be something else going on here."

"Sam's right, it really doesn't make any sense that it's a slow acting virus. The men would be affected too."

"You know for a couple of smart kids you can really be close minded sometimes." Jack grumbled. "We aren't on Earth, the normal rules don't apply. What if this is something that feeds off estrogen or something? I mean we came across that one disease that fed off histamines, which if I'm not mistaken was totally bizarre."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. Daniel closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples. Sam actually felt guilty for coming here and ruining his little paradise, but as much as she hated to admit it the General had a point.

If this was a virus, she'd never be able to return to the SGC and she had already had a gruesome glimpse of her future. Daniel and Jack were just staring at one another when the Gate suddenly sprang to life. Sam gathered up her laptop and with Jack's help got to her feet.

Teal'c was standing by the DHD, generally keeping out of this. The other's joined him to await word from the doctors of the SGC. The vortex snapped out at them and established a shimmering worm hole.

"General?" Jack's radio crackled.

"I'm here."

"Well, I have good news and bad news." Dr. Brightman announced.

"I hate it when you say that."

"I'm sorry."

"How about some good news."

"The good news is that there is no sign of bacteria, virus, tissue breakdown, or any other testable pathology in either Colonel Carter's samples or the blood and spinal fluid samples taken from the natives."

"And the bad news?"

"Well..." Dr. Brightman paused. "There is no sign of bacteria, virus, tissue breakdown, or any other testable pathology..."

"I don't understand." Jack admitted.

"It means she has no idea what's wrong." Daniel supplied.

"It's very difficult to treat a disease if you can't diagnose it." Dr. Brightman said. "I need more information."

"What kind of information?"

"What course the disease takes, if everyone has the same symptoms, how long does it take to run its course, has anyone ever recovered, is there dementia or just ataxia, does every woman die of it..."

"Doc, the only people who know those answers speak gibberish."

"It's not gibberish." Daniel growled.

"Whatever, we don't understand them."

"I don't know what else I can do, General." Dr. Brightman admitted. "We really can't risk bringing one of the victims to the SGC. If we don't know how it's spread we may not be able to contain it. The samples themselves were dangerous enough as it is and I recommend sending them back through the Stargate to dispose of them there."

"The SGC has been put at enough risk as it is, Sir." Sam pointed out. "I've been here and back before. I don't recall having contact with anyone, but we've already exposed the SGC as much as we dare."

"Yeah." Jack sighed. "Bringing anyone who is sick back is out of the question."

"It sounds like whatever this is it has a very long incubation," Dr. Brightman broke in "it may be twenty years before Colonel Carter shows symptoms if she is infected."

"In any case, I need to stay here until we have a better idea of what is going on."

"Alright, send the samples through. We'll get rid of them. Make sure we decontaminate the SGC and personal as best we can. In the meantime try and think of something, anything, and get back to us."

"Yes, Sir."

A few minutes later a sealed steel biohazard box on wheels rolled its way through the Stargate. After the Event Horizon snapped shut everyone just stared at the inactive Gate. Eventually Daniel couldn't handle the silence.

"I'll figure this out, I swear." Daniel promised. "Just give me a little more time."

"You're wasting time right now." Jack snarled.

The look of shocked hurt that flashed across Daniel's face brought Sam close to tears. He started to say something, but decided against it. Sam tried to catch his eye to silently apologize for Jack's behaviour, but he wouldn't look at her. Turning away Daniel walked back off towards the village.

When Daniel was out of sight Jack dragged his hands through his silver hair and growled in animal frustration. Sam looked to Teal'c, but he was just standing there as stoic as ever. The Jaffa was like a living representation of Sweden: neutral in all wars between Jack and Daniel.

"Sir...you shouldn't be so hard on Daniel. This isn't his fault."

"I know." Jack admitted in a low mumble.

"Then why are you treating him like this?"

"That I don't know."

Daniel knew, and he was just as angry with himself as Jack was. With a heavy heart he returned to where the whole village slept through the heat of the day. As he walked past the Kanra part of the village he could only pray that he hadn't inadvertently condemned Sam to the same fate.

Taja was just beginning to wake when he stepped into her primitive home. Seeing that he had returned she reached over to a low table and lifted up a necklace with a single animal tooth on it. She forced a smile, but she could feel Daniel's uneasiness.

"Dan'el." She said simply as she held it out to him.

"Ni." Daniel shook his head. "I don't want it."

"Tas, tas." She insisted.

"Ni. What I really want is for you tell me everything about Kanra."

"Da." Taja said sadly as she put the necklace down.

"I'm sorry." Daniel forced a smile and held out his hand.

Taja brighten immediately and gave him the trinket. Not knowing what else to do with it he placed it around his neck with the other one. For the first time he took a really close look at the necklace he was already wearing and noticed something odd.

"Taja...this necklace, these bones...they aren't human are they?"

"Nu?"

"Bones." Daniel pointed to one of them and then to his own finger. "Are these human bones?"

"Da, da." Taja replied tapping on the back of her hand.

"I guess that shouldn't really surprise me. It's a good way to keep the dead close, and you seem to lose your loved ones at a young age."

Taja just smiled.

"Taja, do you know how Kanra is spread?" As Daniel said 'Kanra' he made a motion as if spreading something around.

"Ni." Taja shook her head sadly.

"Do you know what causes it?" Daniel asked and then sighed. "Of course you don't, why would you? This is impossible, how can we talk about this if I don't know the words?"

Taja looked at Daniel quizzically. He suddenly had a thought, a way to ask about the Kanra. He brought her outside to a place that had soft soil. Kneeling down he began to draw in the dirt.

"Dan'el?"

"It's my family tree." Daniel explained. "I want to know about your family. Wegu. Family."

"Da."

"The circles are female. Wen. Female. The squares are male. Gnu. Male."

"Da, da."

Daniel drew out his small family tree while Taja watched. She was giving him her full attention and seemed to follow along. When he was done he encouraged her to do the same.

Taja nodded and began to draw in the dirt as well. Daniel was afraid at first that she'd just copy his, but it quickly became clear that her own family was much larger than his own. When she was done she sat back and waited for further instruction.

"Okay...um...well." Daniel struck a line through his drawing. "My parents are dead. Uru. Death."

"Da."

"Who has died of Kanra in your family? Kanra uru?"

Taja looked over her drawing. Starting at the top she began to draw strikes through the circles. Each time she did she whispered 'Kanra'. At one point she actually drew a line through one of the men in her family and marked it with 'Kanra' as well. However the terrifying pattern soon became clear.

"Almost every female in your family has died of this."

"Da. Ren Kanra uru." Taja sighed.

"My god...what if this is genetic?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"That's a very good theory, Dr. Jackson. However, I'm afraid that genetic disorders don't work that way. Actually they can't work that way."

"Why not?" Jack asked.

Daniel had returned to the Stargate to ask Dr. Brightman about the possibility of this disorder being linked to genetics. In a way he had hoped that he was right, because then Sam would be safe. On the other hand if it was genetic then there would be no cure.

"Sir, if this was a genetic disease it would have to be a sex-linked disorder." Dr. Brightman explained. "Sex-linked disorders that affect females must be on the X chromosome. However any disorder on the X tends to affect more males than females. For females to be affected it must either be a dominate trait, or the females need to receive two recessive copies. Even if the disorder is recessive the males would be far more affected because they'd have a high chance of ending up with one bad X and no good X to compensate."

"Like Hemophilia." Daniel sighed.

"Exactly, females tend to be carriers of X-linked diseases, not the suffers."

"I should have thought of that." Daniel admitted. "Queen Victoria carried Hemophilia and passed it on to a large portion of the male descendants of British royal family. Her daughters carried it, but did not have Hemophilia, her sons and grandsons did."

"So something external must be causing this." Jack concluded.

"Yeah." Daniel replied half heartedly. "Thank you Dr. Brightman."

"I wish I had more answers."

"Don't worry, we'll figure this out." Sam said confidently.

"I will keep working on it." Dr. Brightman assured.

Taja held onto Daniel's upper arm tightly as the wormhole snapped shut. She glanced nervously over at Jack who in turn ignored her. Daniel gave her a reassuring smile, hoping to let her know that Jack wasn't actually a threat.

"There has to be an answer here." Daniel muttered. "I'm going to go try and talk to the Chieftess."

"Good luck." Sam smiled.

Daniel nodded in a distracted manner and headed back off to the village. Like a loyal puppy Taja followed him closely. Jack watched them leave, undecided about what to do. It wasn't until Sam nudged him that he rolled his eyes in defeat and went to catch up with Daniel.

"Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"I...uh...I'm sorry."

"What?"

"You heard me." Jack smiled. "If anyone can figure this out you can. This isn't your fault. You have just been doing your job."

"I'm trying." Daniel chuckled.

"Da?" Taja asked hopefully.

"What is she saying?"

"I think she's just making sure everything is okay."

"Ah." Jack looked her over for a second. "You two aren't married or anything are you?"

"I hope not."

Jack smiled and having said his peace allowed the two to walk off. The sun was starting to get low in the sky adding an ominous feel to the jungle like environment. When they arrived at the Chieftess's hut she was outside waiting for them with a troubled look on her face.

"Taja." Yu'li said softly. "Miki..."

"Uru?" Taja whispered in horror.

Yu'li nodded.

"I'm so sorry Taja." Daniel offered a comforting embrace and she accepted it.

"Taja, inric Fea."

"Da, da." Taja nodded and wiped away her tears.

"Inric Fea?" Daniel asked.

"Ni, Dan'el."

"No men again?" Daniel sighed.

"Da, da."

"Rekris, Sam?"

"Ni. Wegu."

"Family only at the funeral. I can understand that."

Taja forced a smile. Yu'li held out her hand and Taja took it gratefully. Daniel expected them to head off towards the derelict part of town. However they walked off in the opposite direction.

"I shouldn't intrude on your funeral ceremony, but I can't help but feel that something isn't right."

Rationalizing his decision Daniel followed the two women in secret. As they walked through the village a few others joined them. A group of about six women made their way into the deep jungle.

The trees made it easy for Daniel to hide in the shadows. Taja was already distracted by her grief and did not notice him. After a fair walk they came to a clearing in the trees. There was a large group of both men and women gathered there. Everyone wore appropriate expressions of mourning. A few of the women were shaking so badly that they were being supported by others.

To either side of the clearing medium sized fires crackled. Placed above the fires were black cauldrons that bubbled with a perfume smelling liquid. In the center was a large stone altar that held the naked body of Miki.

"Miki," Taja addressed the corpse "yan estri wenris. Ni daka."

"Ni daka." The rest of the gathering said in unison.

With tears still streaming down her face Taja turned to Yu'li. The Chieftess bowed deeply and offered her a large ornate knife. Daniel's heart slammed against his chest in fear that Taja might be about to sacrifice herself.

Daniel's fear quickly turned to nausea when Taja plunged the knife deep into the dead woman's chest. The crowd made a musical sound, one appropriate for sending off the dead. Four more women approached the altar, all of them with knifes.

What unfolded next was difficult for Daniel to watch. He had studied countless cultures in books, and had read about some truly graphic ceremonies. However nothing in the pages of a text could prepare him for actually witnessing one such ceremony actually being preformed.

The women were quick in their work. They removed the arms and feet of the corpse with their sharp knifes. The appendages were placed to the side with loving care. Taja helped the others in striping the muscle off the legs. These parts were taken and placed in the bubbling caldron to the right of the altar.

Daniel's own stomach turned as they carefully removed the thin muscles over the abdomen. One of the woman took this flesh and placed it in the pot to the left of the altar. They very carefully removed the liver and heart and also added this to the pot on the left.

When Taja was given a heavy mallet and a metal chisel Daniel was forced to turn away. He could hear the sickening crack of Miki's skull as it was broken open. Bile stung the back of his throat. He could not judge these people, to them burring their dead in metal boxes under the ground was probably a horrifying thought. However that knowledge didn't help settle Daniel's stomach.

Forcing himself to continue watching Daniel was just in time to see Taja bring the brain tissue over to the left caldron and drop it in. A song was started as the contents of the pots were allowed to boil. The bones and their remaining meat were taken off the altar and placed in a deep trough of liquid that Daniel hadn't noticed before.

He assumed that the deep brown liquid in the trough was some form of natural acid. It would eat the remaining flesh off the bones and would be later collected to make jewelry out of. Once everything was in place a wordless song was started.

It was not a mournful song, it was one of celebration and triumph. Taja's clear voice rose above the others. It was strikingly beautiful after the grisly sight of her dismembering her mother's remains.

Despite everything Daniel was glad that he had this chance to observe this fascinating way of dealing with death. It was so different from anything he had experienced before. The diversity of culture had always fascinated him, he had never had a moment of doubt that he would follow in his parent's archeology footsteps.

Daniel was about to leave and allow Taja to mourn with her kin and friends when something stopped him. The mixed sex group suddenly separated themselves. The men all went over to the fire on the right while all of the women moved to the left. Buckets of water were used to dose the fires and the bubbling caldrons began to cool. What happened next took Daniel completely by surprise.

"Oh my God...you're going to eat her." He whispered to himself. "This is ritualistic cannibalism."

Taja was handed a long handled spoon which she used to stir the stew-like mix that they had created. Daniel was torn, he had no right to interfere. Just because his Western thinking was repulsed by the idea didn't make it wrong. It wasn't until Taja lifted up a piece of brain matter that Daniel gasped in realization.

"Taja! No! Ni!" Daniel cried as he broke cover.

"Dan'el!" Taja exclaimed.

The men who had been about to eat from the other caldron rushed over and capture the intruder. Daniel didn't fight against them as they pinned his arms back. He just called to Taja until she came to him.

"Taja, this is Kanru. This is how it is spread!" Daniel explained desperately. "This happened to my people, this happened on Earth. I had completely forgotten, they called it Kuru, it means 'to tremble'. It was the Fore people of Papua New Guinea, they must be your ancestors. Taja, Kanra uru, death is here now."

"Dan..."

"Taja, listen to me. The Fore they ate their dead, they believed Kuru was a curse not a disease. Thousands of them died of what you call Kanra. The men don't get sick because they don't eat the brain matter. I know you can't understand this, I...I don't know what else to say. Kanra and Kuru are the same disease, the same uru, death. This is a deadly prion! We couldn't see it at the SGC because we have no tests for pirons."

Taja just started at Daniel as though he were mad. He reasoned that she had every right to believe that he was. He was upsetting her further and the men holding him started to force him back, he was not welcome here.

"Taja! Ni! Kanra uru!" Daniel cried. "Don't eat it! Please, please don't eat it, you'll suffer the same fate! You all will!"

Everyone was exchanging anxious looks and beginning to chatter among themselves. Yu'li was trying to restore order to the funeral crowd. Her own Kanra was flaring up under the stress of the situation. Despite her slurring speech she barked orders and tamed the gathering.

When he realized Taja still didn't understand Daniel fought to free himself. However he was out numbered and unable to keep from being dragged away like a rowdy drunk from a party. Knowing his words meant nothing to her Daniel looked to the condemning meal and then back at Taja with a look of abject terror. It wasn't an act, he was truly afraid for her.

Taja stared at him in bewildered shock as he was finally taken away from the ring of the fire light. He didn't get to see her decision, he didn't get to see if she had understood him. The men brought him to the village and released him before returning back to their ceremony.

"Taja, I'm sorry. I should have know sooner. I should have seen this. Kuru...also known as 'The Laughing Disease'."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Ugh...that is thoroughly disgusting."

"Jack it's just part of their culture..."

"And look where it's gotten them." Jack huffed and turned to Sam. "Carter, dial us home."

Sam hesitated to dial the Gate, knowing that Jack and Daniel were going to get into an argument over it anyway. She was not disappointed.

"Home?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, home, before we end up on the menu."

"Jack, they aren't going to hurt us. They only eat their dead as part of funeral rights. If they killed and ate strangers I'd be dinner by now."

"How do you know that they haven't just been fattening you up?"

"Jack, you drive me insane sometimes." Daniel sighed in frustration.

"The feeling is one hundred percent mutual."

"If this cannibalism continues this entire culture is going to die. The women will become infected at a younger and younger age until they die too young to have daughters. We can't just abandon them."

Jack looked around the moon lit jungle and sighed. He was anxious to leave, this place made him nervous. Even with Carter safe from infection it unnerved him to be here. At the same time he knew Daniel was right.

"Okay, Daniel, what do we do?"

"I need to see Taja. I already tried to explain, but I'm afraid it might be too late save her. However, if I can make her understand perhaps the next generation can be saved."

"Well the first part should be easy."

"What?"

Jack pointed over Daniel's shoulder. He turned around and saw Taja was walking slowly towards them. She still held the long handled spoon in one hand, but when she caught Daniel's eye she purposefully dropped it.

To Jack's surprise Daniel's face lit up with a bright smile. He laughed in absolute relief and held his hand out to her. Suddenly Taja's pearly smile glowed in her deeply tanned face. She rushed up and threw her arms around his neck. Daniel chuckled as she kissed his cheek and released him.

"Estri, Dan'el, estri!"

"Da. You're welcome, Taja."

"Whoa, wait a minute." Jack interrupted. "What the hell is going on?"

"Problem solved." Daniel beamed. "She understood me."

"But you said you didn't have any words to explain it."

"That's the beautiful thing about language, Jack. It's far more than just words. It's a whole symphony of tone, timber, expression, it encompasses both body and mind, even soul. If you're desperate enough you can say anything to anyone...without saying a word."

Despite Daniel's elegant speech Jack remained obviously skeptical. Without even realizing that he was proving Daniel right he exchanged a glance with Sam that spoke loud and clear: 'He is clearly insane...why do we love him?'. With a smile and a barely perceivable shrug Sam replied: 'I don't know. Do we need a reason?'.

"Alright, Daniel." Jack sighed. "As long as everything worked out."

"I think so." Daniel looked down at Taja. "Taki Naquadah?"

"Da, da!"

"There you go, Jack, we can mine the Naquadah."

"Alright, we'll start in exactly..." Jack looked at his watch as if it was a calendar. "Three weeks and two days."

"What? Why wait?"

"I gave you a month to study these people, you've only been here less than a week."

Daniel's eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly. Taja saw the change in both men's demeanor and wrapped her arms around Jack's neck in a hug.

"Thanks, Jack."

"No problem." Jack shrugged. "Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Stick to a vegetarian diet."

"Oh...no can do."

"Why not?"

"The spiders here are delicious."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"Come on, Jack." Daniel chuckled. "Stay for dinner. Teal'c, Sam, what do you say?"

"Carter..."

"Dialing as fast as I can, Sir."


End file.
